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Floorplan Builder

Anyone use http://www.floorplanner.com/ to generate their EMCS floor plans?
Just downloaded and played around a bit and was wondering if it worth the time in getting proficient with it for floor plan graphics.

kontrol out

"Open is as open does." - Forrest Gump"Can't we all just get a Lon?" - Garry Jack "BACnet: integration or interrogation?" - The Janitor"Open protocols? You can't handle open protocols!" - Nathan R. Jessup“What’s that? Aaa… open protocols? Don’t talk about…. open protocols? Are you kidding me? Open protocols? I just hope we can hardwire an interface!” - Jim Mora http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7fjDS0jKiE

Looks to be a nice graphics suite for floor plans...First time looking/hearing about it.

Thanks

Originally Posted by kontrolphreak

Anyone use http://www.floorplanner.com/ to generate their EMCS floor plans?
Just downloaded and played around a bit and was wondering if it worth the time in getting proficient with it for floor plan graphics.

Anyone use http://www.floorplanner.com/ to generate their EMCS floor plans?
Just downloaded and played around a bit and was wondering if it worth the time in getting proficient with it for floor plan graphics.

kontrol out

I've been using Google Sketchup for years for 3-D floor plans. The 3-D view looks cool but, in reality it doesn't offer much more in functionality than a good 2-D floor plan. I usually only do it for really good long term customers, they think it's the bomb. Like you said, becoming proficient is the key. I also use Sketchup to do some of the off the wall stuff, that's not available with standard graphics. I just did a waste water dump and retrieve graphic....the Sketchup background made it look real nice. I'm interested, I'll take a look at what you have posted.

I use to use Sketchup quite a bit, design cabins and drop them into Google Earth on my bud's land and see the views etc. Never used it for work. This app (by Google too) seem to have a lot of the doors/windows/furniture to drag and drop. I know about the Sketchup library, but having to search and download was a little cumbersome.

kontrol out

"Open is as open does." - Forrest Gump"Can't we all just get a Lon?" - Garry Jack "BACnet: integration or interrogation?" - The Janitor"Open protocols? You can't handle open protocols!" - Nathan R. Jessup“What’s that? Aaa… open protocols? Don’t talk about…. open protocols? Are you kidding me? Open protocols? I just hope we can hardwire an interface!” - Jim Mora http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7fjDS0jKiE

Ditto. We clean them up in photoshop then bring them into visio and color code them or do any other formatting to them. How much time do you guys have in redrawing the whole building in these programs for a medium size building? Seems like it would take a lot of time.

Sketchup (not ketchup)

This app (by Google too) seem to have a lot of the doors/windows/furniture to drag and drop.
kontrol out

Which app is also by Google? http://www.floorplanner.com seems to be a web based service, and not associated with Google. I'm confused (as usual...)

I've started using Sketchup at home (I need to design my detached garage) and it's okay, but I'm not familiar enough with the keystrokes to be proficient yet. I do have a quick reference card printed out and that helps. Have you guys noticed and differences since Google spun Sketchup off to Trimble? I was surprised when I did the last update and it wasn't "Sketchup from Google" anymore.

I use GIMP a lot to do my graphical work, since they won't get me a Photoshop license here at work. It's okay, but far inferior with regards to text, and how it handles layers. Plus, it drives me crazy that the key shortcuts are different than Photoshop, since I use Photoshop at home....

Which app is also by Google? http://www.floorplanner.com seems to be a web based service, and not associated with Google. I'm confused (as usual...)

I've started using Sketchup at home (I need to design my detached garage) and it's okay, but I'm not familiar enough with the keystrokes to be proficient yet. I do have a quick reference card printed out and that helps. Have you guys noticed and differences since Google spun Sketchup off to Trimble? I was surprised when I did the last update and it wasn't "Sketchup from Google" anymore.

I use GIMP a lot to do my graphical work, since they won't get me a Photoshop license here at work. It's okay, but far inferior with regards to text, and how it handles layers. Plus, it drives me crazy that the key shortcuts are different than Photoshop, since I use Photoshop at home....

Look into inkscape.http://inkscape.org/
text controls are much easier to use than gimp and it is free also.

If I understood floorplan builder it looks like it is $5.00 per project after the first free one. It does look nice though.

The 3-D view looks cool but, in reality it doesn't offer much more in functionality than a good 2-D floor plan. I usually only do it for really good long term customers, they think it's the bomb.

Yeah, we've done custom 3D views for a few projects. Very time intensive, as compared to regular 2D layouts.

The truth is ... it's the customer upper management and executives who get wowed by it and want it.

The actual people who do the work of maintenance and operation ... operating engineers, facilities repairs staff. etc ... tend to be much less impressed.

At a current project, for instance, the head of facilities operation and maintenance (real REAL head, the guy who actually knows how stuff works, , not the paper pusher with the fancy title and executive office) thinks the 3D stuff, fancy images imitating real guages, LEDs, and LCD panels, etc ... is a real waste of time and money. And not nearly as useable for getting down to the business of overseeing plant operation, facilitating adjustments, or troubleshooting as the plain 2D stuff plus lots of plain text info.

So we'll be doing 2 whole separate "front ends". One in realistic 3D, for the upper management level folks, do they can show it to their friends and people the want to impress.

And then another, plainer, more basic set which is what will really be used by the techs, operating engineers, etc.

The second, more useable front end set of displays and controls, will be a freebie. Not part of the specs. But it's far simpler and faster to do. And we're charging the folks enough for the "fancy" version to make sure we don't lose any money.

For most projects, we just do lain 2D floor plans. And that seems to please most of our customers. Typically we'll get floorplans/layouts in AutoCad format. Will strip out unwanted layers and BS stuff to achieve a plain floor plan. Import into Visio and use Visio to make further changes, add labels, add color if needed, etc. Then export as a PNG or whatever. Sometimes do some touch ups or whatever on the final result with whatever bitmap editor the guy doing the job favors.

Myself, I also like to import simplified AutoCad drawing (removing unneeded stuff) but showing machinery/equipment, rooms, stairs, etc. And then overlay info showing where all controllers, sensors, actuators, relays, control transformers, etc are actually located. Also add network runs and so forth. Comes in handy ... a lot. For troubleshooting, future service work, future modifications or add-ons, and so forth. Our guys sure love it, saves em calling me and asking "What the heck controls this ...", (fancoil, exh fan, FTR, light, or whatever), "... and where the heck is it ?!?!"

I don't try to get fancy with this type of "Locator" drawing. It's fast and simple. And I leave digital copy on site and put another in our records on the shop server. Field guy on service call can VPN in, get copy. Then he just looks at whatever equipment customer is complaining about and next to it is a label naming it, and info about what controller is actually wired to it. He can also see where controller is located. Saves a lot of time. Especially if you're needing to find a duct static pressure sensor located SOMEWHERE in a big friggin building, up above the ceiling tiles. Or are trying to solve a lighting control problem where controller is here ... but relay for lights in question is actually located 200 foot away horizontally and down 3 floors in a janitor's closet.

May bad, not from Google. Late nights and it is part of my Chrome homepage so my brain put 2 and 2 together and came up with 6.

kontrol out

"Open is as open does." - Forrest Gump"Can't we all just get a Lon?" - Garry Jack "BACnet: integration or interrogation?" - The Janitor"Open protocols? You can't handle open protocols!" - Nathan R. Jessup“What’s that? Aaa… open protocols? Don’t talk about…. open protocols? Are you kidding me? Open protocols? I just hope we can hardwire an interface!” - Jim Mora http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7fjDS0jKiE

That Floorplanner looks pretty good, I played around with it for about 5 mins and thought that it is a nice and easy interface to use.
A lot simpler than 3DSMax or even Sketchup IMHO, and the results are more than adequate.
I have both but rarely use them.

For my 2D stuff I usually use a package called Realdraw, which for my very simplistic art skills, suits me fine. It has some cool features to create really impressive results.
It's object based which makes it easier to create custom animations if needed, and if things don't line up right you just move the objects around until it looks cool.

So for a floorplan, I could create it in Floorplanner, start up Realdraw, then capture the section of the screen with the floorplan on it, and save it in Realdraw as a .png or whatever.
So even with the single project limitation in Floorplanner I can create as many plans as I want.......sneaky trick,
but it works well.

I do all of my floor plans with Chief Architecture. Takes PDF floor plans and easly makes 3d Floor plans that are very impressive. I can also add google sketch designs into it and rescale them, hvac, generators refrigeration.